A Prayer For Our Broken Hearts

My heart is tired. Is yours, dear friend?

We live in a world that is full of tragedy, both global and personal. There are hundreds of reasons to wake up in the morning and simply want to go back to bed. Whether it’s your own personal struggle or the myriad of societal crises - sometimes it all feels too much.

And we invite God in. As our hearts break, we let him into the mess. Let’s do that together today friends. Let’s pray the words of David in Psalm 28:1-2:

To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock,

do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

- Psalm 28:1-2

God we are heartbroken. Our hearts break for the hungry and hurting. Our hearts break for our own loss and grief. Our hearts break for a normal school day turned horrific massacre. Our hearts break for Ulvade, Texas, Buffalo, NY, Laguna Woods, CA. Too many cities to name. Too many lives losts. Too many broken families.

We lift our hands up. We surrender. Deliver us, Oh Holy One. We need you.

And together, friends, we also pray the last several verses of Psalm 28, because, like most of David’s prayers, he doesn’t end with lament. Though our hearts are broken, we know that, even on the darkest Tuesday afternoon, our God is still on His throne. Our God is still in control. And our God is bringing redemption to all things.

So we praise Him because He is good. We praise Him to remind our hearts that no earthly matter will change eternal truth. We praise Him to nudge our hurting hearts to look up, to look at Him.

Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

- Psalm 28:6-9

Oh God, you are still good. We trust you, even in the unknown. We believe you are working all things out for the good of those that love you. Save us. Deliver us. Use the people of The Church at RB to bring restoration to your world.

Friends, this is the church. We gather together. We grieve together. We pray together. And then we praise together. Life is heavy - don’t walk it alone. Let’s be the church now more than ever.

Show up in your families, in your table groups, and on Sunday mornings to brave this dark world, banded together as the body of Christ.

Amen.

Cristina Schmitter

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